


Make A Wish

by HopelessNights



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Keith just wants to get back to the team, Lance just wants to help, M/M, genie!Lance, kangst
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-08-20
Updated: 2017-11-28
Packaged: 2018-12-17 13:05:30
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 9,306
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/11852181
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HopelessNights/pseuds/HopelessNights
Summary: After falling out of the airlock, Keith wanders a strange planet alone with the single goal of reuniting with his team. However, he isn't as alone as he thinks he is.





	1. Through Scorching Deserts

**Author's Note:**

  * For [itsscrow](https://archiveofourown.org/users/itsscrow/gifts).



> I'll add some more tags as the story progresses, so that I can avoid spoiling stuff. Maybe.
> 
> Okay then, I hope you all enjoy my story.
> 
> (Btw, Lance is in the first chapter. Keep your eyes peeled.)

Keith was infuriated. They had almost lost Shiro because of the aliens Allura had allied them with. Those useless, spineless assholes allowed important information to leak to the Galra Empire and expected the team to just forgive them. Yeah right.

 

“Fuck them!” Keith shouted angrily, hand gripping his bayard. He was just _this_ close to pulling it in front of him and slicing through the stupid aliens.

 

“Keith,” Shiro tried to calm his friend, prosthetic arm reaching to rest on Keith’s shoulder. However, the red paladin jerked away and glared at his friend.

 

“No Shiro! You saw what they did! And look at how insincere they are! They can’t even apologize properly!” Keith snarled, waving his now summoned sword at the group of quivering aliens.

 

“P-Please do not hurt us,” the alien leader pleaded. Keith scoffed at them.

 

“Keith. That’s enough,” Shiro stated in a firm tone. Keith stared at the aliens for a moment before deactivating his bayard and stepping back.

 

“I am sorry for that. We truly appreciated your willingness to help us, and we completely forgive the accidental leak of valuable information. But please, next time we work together, be more cautious,” Allura said.

 

Keith couldn’t help but gape openly at the princess as she forgave the aliens and even started a party to celebrate their victory against the Galra—a victory that had almost been a loss because of the aliens that were now partying without a care in the world.

 

Pidge and Hunk watched their friend with concerned gazes, but did nothing to stop the boy from stomping over to the princess and demanding to have a word with her. Pidge looked up at Shiro who walked over to them and leaned against the wall.

 

“This isn’t going to end well, is it?” She mumbled. Shiro let out a sigh in reply.

 

* * *

 

“What is it Keith? I have to discuss things with the leader of—”

 

“Why are you forgiving them? Hell, why are you even planning to work together with those stupid aliens? They almost caused us to lose Shiro! They were fucking useless in battle, useless in planning the attack, useless in keeping the information secret—they aren’t worth having as allies,” Keith ranted, his hands clenched at his sides.

 

“Keith, do not speak ill of them. They only wish to help us. What happened was a grievous mistake, and in the end we did not lose Shiro. Everything turned out fine. Just let it go, Keith. We need as many allies in the battle as we can get.”

 

“Well we don’t need allies like _them_! They’ll tuck tail and run when things go to shit. They’ll give information to the Galra for a pretty penny. They don’t give a damn about our lives. They don’t give a shit about the war. They don’t care if the Galra win. They just want to live—they only care for themselves!” Keith yelled.

 

“That’s enough, Keith!” Allura crossed her arms, glaring at the red paladin. “We need this, and that is final, okay? So either go back to the party and celebrate our win, or go to your room.”

 

Keith glared at her before storming off towards his room. Allura let out a heavy sigh, dragging a hand down her face. She straightened up after a moment and left the room to return to the party.

 

* * *

 

 

Keith was nearing his room when he heard someone running down the hallway. He followed the figure, which led him all the way down to the hangar. His eyes widened when he noticed the stupid aliens were trying to steal the lions. He drew out his bayard.

 

“Step the fuck away from the lions, you stupid aliens!” He shouted. All of the aliens startled at the sound of his voice, some toppling over.

 

“No—Please, please just let us go. We swear we won’t take anything! Don’t kill us, please!” The aliens pleaded. Keith glared at them, ignoring their pleads. He was determined to toss each and every fuzzy gray alien out of the airlock.

 

With each screaming alien sent out into the endlessness of space through the opened airlock after a couple minutes of struggling, Keith felt a sense of happiness fill him. Finally, he got rid of those annoying, horrible, stupid aliens. Though some were still partying with his team. He gritted his teeth at the thought, starting to walk away from the airlock.

 

He was pulled back by a grip on his ankle. Glancing down he saw another fuzzy gray alien staring up at him with its stupid eyes. It tugged on his ankle with strength that Keith had no idea it possessed. A thought passed through his mind as he was thrown into space with the alien clinging to his ankle (though he did kick the alien off before falling into unconsciousness).

 

_Stupid, thieving, untrustworthy fuzzy aliens…_

 

* * *

 

 

When he awoke, Keith was staring up at a glaringly hot sun. He definitely wasn’t on the Castle anymore. With no lion in sight—as well as no stupid fuzzy aliens—Keith stood up slowly, brushing off the sand that found its way into his clothes.

 

“Great. I’m not even wearing my paladin armor,” he muttered, then whipped out his bayard. “At least I still have this…”

 

He took in his surroundings, and was instantly reminded of his house in the desert back on Earth. The planet that Keith ended up on had a purple sky and a sun similar to the one back on Earth. There was sand all around him, and it went on for miles as far as he could see. There was no water around him, and no shade. Keith sighed and ran a hand through his messy black hair. His hand got stuck in tangles causing him to let out a frustrated huff before tugging his hand free.

 

Keith set off on his journey to find something more than a empty desert. Maybe some water, or aliens, or even some shelter from the hot sun bearing down on him. Keith didn’t know how long he had walked for, but he was already sweating up buckets. Panting slightly, he trudged up a particularly high hill of sand. It had been so long since he had this feeling. He couldn’t tell if he felt at home, or if that was just some of those delusions that come with dehydration.

 

A couple of times, Keith felt as if he was being followed. However, no matter how many times he scanned the open space around him, there was nothing there. When he started hearing footsteps in the sand, but saw nothing, he casted it off as some kind of hallucination.

 

He was guessing he had walked for at least a whole day because the sky had turned into a light shade of grey and the sun had disappeared only to be replaced with something that looked like broken pieces of a mirror. It casted soft streams of light all around him. In the distance, Keith caught sight of a glow that was different from the shining light all around him. He began running towards it, hoping he wasn’t wasting his energy.

 

He let out a groan when all he found was a ring resting on an uneven pile of sand. He picked it up, hoping something useful was resting beneath it. There was nothing there. Keith began walking again, turning the ring over in his hand to examine it. After a long moment of examining the ring, he placed it in his bag, hoping that it was worth something so that he could sell it when he finally found civilization.

 

He walked through the entire night, still finding nothing. As the sun rose once again, Keith wanted to bury himself in the sand and just let his exhaustion take over. But Keith wasn’t about to give up. He picked up the pace when the sand beneath his feet began to heat up to a scalding temperature. Soon he was grunting slightly from the pain of walking on the hot sand. He could feel it through his shoes. Keith couldn’t help but pity those who walked these deserts bare-footed.

 

His mouth was dry, as was his throat. He was fairly certain that if he attempted to speak, he would end up coughing up a lung. There was still not water in sight, and he was somewhat grateful that he hadn’t fallen victim to any sort of mirage. Night was coming again and Keith still couldn’t catch sight of any alien or small town. He noticed that instead of walking normally, he was dragging his feet through the sand. A big sign of his exhaustion.

 

Still, Keith pushed on. He hoped to find some sort of shelter before the sun came up again. He didn’t think he could last another day without water. His palms were sweating in his gloves and his bangs were stuck to his forehead, hair getting into his eyes. It was annoying to swipe at it throughout the day—as if he didn’t waste enough energy just walking in a straight line.

 

His legs were burning from the overexertion. Even his vision was blurring. He wasn’t sure if it was due to the heat or the lack of sleep. But then again, he wasn’t a stranger to missing hours of sleep. So, he concluded that it just must be the heat of the desert getting to him. And he wasn’t a stranger to a desert’s heat either, but there was something different about this particular desert. Maybe because it was in space on some alien planet that he had no knowledge of whatsoever?

 

The sun was rising before Keith even realized it. And with the sun came a strong wave of heat. Keith felt like he was on fire from the sensation of his skin being burnt. He was certain his face was flushed red—the darkest shade of the color possible. His vision blurred as he tried to focus on putting one foot in front of the other. What was walking again?

 

In the distance, he was certain he could see a sandstorm heading his way, but Keith was too exhausted to give a damn. Plus, his body seemed like it couldn’t give a shit anyway. He had no choice with the way his body met the ground, face full of sand. His eyes shut as a wave of pain and exhaustion washed over him.

 

Hopefully his body wouldn’t breathe in sand while he knocked out.


	2. Can't Stand The Heat?

“Can’t stand the heat? Even though you’re the supposed red paladin of Voltron? Wow,” a voice mocked as Keith blinked open his eyes dazedly. His tongue was heavy in his mouth and his brain was feeling a bit sluggish, so it wasn’t like he could fire back a retort.

 

Through blurred vision, Keith observed that he was _still_ in that damn never-ending desert (like he expected to magically teleport back to the Castle. Yeah, too much wishful thinking there). The difference was that he was in some stranger’s lap. A stranger who he couldn’t help but notice had really, _really_ blue eyes. They seemed unreal—like the ocean was in his eyes or something. The heat must be getting to him.

 

Keith pulled away from the stranger, stumbling into the sand. He pulled himself into a sitting position, feeling sore all over. He let out a pained grunt as he finally managed to get comfortable and face the—was he an alien? Because he looked human…which was strange because Keith was fairly certain he didn’t end up back on Earth—stranger who was pouting at him.

 

“Aw, come on. I _just_ managed to get all that sand out of your hideous mullet!” The boy complained, standing up and brushing sand off of himself. “All my hard work, just _wasted_. I’m so offended right now.”

 

“Uh…Sorry?” Keith’s face crinkled in confusion. The boy looked at him with laughter in his eyes, but a straight face.

 

“Apology accepted,” he nodded, a smile so bright spreading across his face. “I’m Lance, by the way.”

 

“I’m Keith,” he blinked. “And…do you know where we are exactly? And what…what happened?”

 

“Oh, that’s easy!” The boy grinned, jumping on his heels. Keith observed how the other boy had a seemingly endless supply of energy, and couldn’t help but wonder _how_? How in this heat could anyone even force out a smile—and this guy was doing it effortlessly.

 

“So, we are in a desert—obviously—called Sizzling Bacon. Okay, okay, I’m kidding. It’s called the Dead Man’s Grave,” Lance informed. “Because—you know—many people die here. Hardly anyone can find their way out of this desert. Surprised you haven’t stumbled upon any skeletons, actually. There’s a lot. And I mean _a lot_. Um…Planet is called Nevarious. Neva, for short.”

 

There was a short pause in Lance’s explanation as he looked up at the sky, squinting. He spun around and grabbed Keith’s wrist, dragging him in a random direction. Keith struggled to get his legs moving. His vision was still blurring every now and then. How long was he even out?

 

“Don’t worry, this planet is more than just deserts. There is actually a beach somewhere on this planet! Amazing, right? We should totally go check it out together sometime! It’ll be fun. Anyway, there are some strange aliens that live on this planet. Most are unfriendly. Some are friendly, but some just pretend to be so they can steal your stuff when you let your guard down. So, be careful, yeah? Hey, don’t look at me like that! I’m _helping_ you,” Lance pouted, his eyes wide and very blue.

 

“How you got here…Well, I’m pretty sure you know how. And I found you…Well, I just…You were out for a pretty long time and I was worried you would drown in the sand, so I couldn’t just leave you there,” Lance continued with a shrug.

 

“What about that sandstorm? And how did you find me? There was nobody around for miles,” Keith pointed out.

 

“That sandstorm passed over us. And…Well, you remember that ring you found?” Lance questioned, the two of them coming to a stop.

 

“Yeah,” he nodded, reaching into his pocket to grab it. His hand came up empty. He looked up and saw Lance holding it in the palm of his hand, a sheepish look on his face.

 

“This is mine,” he stated. “I’m the genie of this ring.”

 

Keith stared at him blankly.

 

“Come on, it can’t be that hard to believe. You pilot a giant lion,” Lance huffed.

 

“If you’re a genie, doesn’t that mean I get three wishes?” Keith asked, an idea forming in his mind.

 

“Um. I guess. But _I’m_ the one holding the ring right now,” Lance teased, tossing the ring into the air only to grab it again.

 

“So I just have to take that ring from you and you have to grant me three wishes?” Keith asked, preparing himself to snatch it from the boy.

 

“Well, don’t strain yourself man. I’m just messing with you. I’ll give you three wishes, just don’t hurt yourself please,” Lance laughed. He moved to hand the ring over to Keith, but paused. “But, firstly. Tell me what being a paladin of Voltron means to you.”

 

“Huh?” Keith startled at the question.

 

“Tell me that first, then I’ll let you hold onto my ring. And I’ll grant you your three wishes,” Lance stated.

 

“Okay,” Keith furrowed his eyebrows. “Well, being a paladin means protecting everyone. Defending the universe. Saving people and taking down the Galra Empire. It means saving and protecting the universe, basically.”

 

“And that means something to you?” Lance asked with a curious tilt of his head, his brown hair flopping with his movement. Keith nodded.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Even if some of the aliens you fight to protect don’t deserve it? Even if your friends are killed in this fight? Is it worth their lives? Is it worth yours?”

 

“What are you asking?” Keith glared, frustration building up in him. He didn’t understand the genie’s intent behind these questions.

 

“Would it be worth it to give up your life to save the universe?” Lance asked, his eyes darkening.

 

“I…Yes,” Keith hesitated before answering firmly. Lance stared at him for a long moment before shrugging and tossing the ring at him. Keith caught it easily.

 

“Okay then. You have three wishes,” Lance smiled, raising his hand to hold up three fingers. “Make them worth it, okay?”

 

“Wait…So, I can wish for _anything_? Like to return to my team right now? Or for this war with the Galra Empire to be over, with us winning over them? Or like peace for the entire universe?”

 

“You really have no clue on the rules of wishes, do you?” Lance blinked owlishly at Keith. “You cannot tell me you haven’t watched the Disney movie: Aladdin. There’s always rules in place, man.”

 

At Keith’s curious gaze, Lance face palmed and let out a small groan. He shook his head at the mullet haired teen, muttering something unintelligible under his breath.

 

“Okay. I’ll explain. So, no you cannot wish for any of the things you asked me. Sorry, the rules are there for a reason. Nobody gets to wish for things that just cannot happen for a reason. I mean, you have to win on your own. Magic for that is like…Well, too much influence on important events will mess up the universe. You can talk that over with the genie king if you want. Wouldn’t suggest it though. The guy’s got a stick up his ass. A serious downer, I tell you,” Lance sighed.

 

“There’s a genie king?” Keith asked in disbelief. Lance rose an eyebrow at him.

 

“Well, yeah. How else do you think most genies aren’t out wrecking havoc on the universe?”

 

“Uh…”

 

“Anyway, there isn’t much you can’t wish for. Simple, really. You can’t wish for something that will cause magic to influence major events of the universe—the outcome of such, you would not like to know. Believe me. Also, you cannot wish for—well, it’s actually a long list if I’m being honest. But that’s like the number one rule. I may like bending rules, but that is one that I cannot do for you,” Lance shrugged.

 

“Well, why can’t you let me return to my team?” Keith persisted, crossing his arms and staring the genie down.

 

“Because of events that I cannot share with you,” Lance replied.

 

“What. That doesn’t even make sense! Seriously, just grant that one wish and I won’t need anymore!” Keith exclaimed in irritation.

 

“No can do, my dear Mullet,” Lance grinned. “But hey, use your three wishes wisely, yeah? I’ve seen people have regrets. Save your wishes if you want. I’ll gladly stick around.”

 

“Not like I _need_ you to,” Keith growled. “Especially if you’re gonna be useless. Like what kind of wish would I make now? Nothing would be useful.”

 

Lance frowned at him, a flash of hurt flittering across his face before it vanished as if it never had been there. “For one, I am _not_ useless. And like I said, save your wishes. There’s no need to spend them all now. Also, use your imagination, Mullet.”

 

Keith let out an aggravated groan and ran a hand through his sweaty hair, sand falling out of it. Lance watched him with an indifferent expression, waiting for his reply.

 

“Fine. Whatever. Just tell me where I can find civilization on this damn planet,” Keith demanded. Lance lit up happily as he nodded.

 

“Okay, just follow me,” he said. “The closest town isn’t that far from here.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Yay. Another chapter. Lol. 
> 
> I hope you all enjoyed. =)
> 
> Also, Lance lied twice in this chapter.


	3. Alone

They arrived at the town in less than twenty minutes. Keith realized he wasn’t feeling as thirsty nor as exhausted as he did before he met Lance, which made absolutely no sense. He hadn’t used a wish on feeling better did he? Did he mutter something like that under his breath?

 

“You know, you should probably wear my ring—not leave it in that bag of yours,” Lance informed him, taking the ring from his bag and grabbing his hand to place it on his palm. Keith frowned, but took the ring and placed it on his ring finger. He heard a small giggle coming from the genie, but when he turned to face the boy, Lance was staring away from him and into the distance with a bright smile.

 

“Look! There’s a small inn you can stay at. Doesn’t cost much either. Do you have any money on you?” Lance inquired.

 

“No,” Keith mumbled.

 

“Well, I bet we can find some around here,” Lance grinned.

 

“Can’t I just wish for some? Or is that also on the _No Can Do_ List?” Keith grumbled. Lance rolled his eyes at the grumpy teenager.

 

“You can totally make such a wish, but I wouldn’t suggest it. It would be such a waste. You can wish for something more useful, especially when a situation calls for it. Remember: don’t make a wish you’ll regret,” Lance reminded him, shaking his finger in front of Keith’s face. Keith huffed in annoyance and turned away from him, taking in his surroundings.

 

It was a quiet town. There wasn’t many people about, just a few here and there. And none of the aliens seemed to be the same. There was one large, round alien that reminded Keith of a hamster ball, and another skinny green alien that looked mostly human, excluding the long ears and the fact it only had one eye. So basically the aliens on this planet weren’t of the same kind. That brought to mind a new question.

 

“How did they all come here?” Keith asked, continuing on at the sight of Lance’s confused expression. “All of these aliens. They look different from one another.”

 

“Oh. Nobody actually lived on this planet before. They all just came one by one. Some crash landed, others came here with a purpose in mind. If you’re asking about if this planet has a ship, then the answer is no. At least none for sale,” Lance explained.

 

“Then—”

 

“Are you planning on stealing?” Lance asked, narrowing his eyes. “Because I wouldn’t suggest that.”

 

“What, you’ve got a problem with minor crimes? You’ve probably granted all kinds of wishes that would fall under the unmoral category,” Keith glared.

 

“What I meant was that you shouldn’t steal from these aliens because most of them are criminals,” Lance stated, crossing his arms and glaring back. “Don’t get all angry at me. I’m just trying to help.”

 

Keith breathed out through his nose and turned away. A slight guilty feeling blooming in his chest. He didn’t ponder over it too much since something drew his attention away. There were two large aliens that looked familiar and—oh, shit. They were _Galra_.

 

Lance noticed Keith’s sudden panic, grabbing his wrist and pulling him to hide behind a small market stand. The owner of the stall turned to stare at them before ignoring them to work on his products. Keith opened his mouth to say something, but Lance shoved a hand over it, effectively shutting him up. The two purple aliens passed by without stopping, disappearing into the inn. Lance removed his hand from Keith’s mouth and stepped away from the stand they were hiding behind.

 

“That was close,” Lance said, stretching his arms above his head. He sent a side glance at Keith before looking over at the inn. “Probably won’t be safe for us to stay there, huh?”

 

Keith gave a stiff nod before walking off. He heard Lance sigh before light footsteps fell, trailing behind him. They remained in silence as Keith scoped out the area. After an hour of searching and coming up with nothing, Keith came to a stop near the stand they hid behind earlier.

 

_What if I never make it back to the team? What if this is all there is to this? What if I get trapped on this planet with a fucking genie and Voltron’s enemy living in the inn we were supposed to stay in?_

 

Keith let out a frustrated groan, pulling at his hair with both hands. He could just go into the inn and take out the Galra…

 

“If you’re thinking of going after those Galra we saw earlier, that definitely wouldn’t be a good idea. We don’t know how many more of them are here. Even more could come and then what?” Lance asked, standing off to the other side of the stand. He was holding one of the products in his hand—a weird squishy red blob. Keith had no idea what that was even supposed to be. The alien that was in charge of the stall was looking at Lance with a bored expression, shoving other products at him.

 

“You didn’t think that far did you? Well, don’t panic,” Lance said as he looked up from the red blob. Keith stared blankly at the genie, a flood of irritation rushing through him. How could he be so calm when they were stuck on—

 

Oh. He guessed Lance wouldn’t truly care. After all, Keith was just his master. Lance was chained to him because Keith found his ring. Why would he care about Keith if he’s just going to leave him after his three wishes were up? He didn’t care what would happen to him, he was just doing his job.

 

“We should find a place to rest, Mullet.”

 

Keith walked off without acknowledging the genie, expecting him to just follow.

 

“Hey man. Wait up,” Lance called out as he followed behind. When Keith didn’t pause in his march away from the town, Lance jogged up in front of him and held out his hands to press against Keith’s chest, stopping him in his tracks. Keith brushed the boy’s hands off of him and glared.

 

“What?” He bit out harshly.

 

“Okay…Did I say something wrong?” Lance asked with a tilt of his head, his eyes expressing his confusion in tumultuous waves.

 

“No,” Keith answered shortly.

 

“Come on man, talk to me,” Lance pleaded. “I can’t read your mind no matter how awesome I seem to be, okay? You have to let me know if I upset you. But you must know that if I did do something to offend you, I really didn’t mean it.”

 

“Whatever,” Keith sighed. “Forget it. Let’s just go.”

 

Lance stared at him for a moment longer before nodding and stepping out of Keith’s path. He still looked a bit worried and that made Keith feel just a tad more guilty. He quickly brushed it off because Lance didn’t _care_. So, he couldn’t fool himself into believing that.

 

On this planet—even with a genie following him around—Keith was alone. He couldn’t depend on anyone but himself. So, he resolved to not grow attached to this odd genie boy. Because as strong as Keith was, he couldn’t deal with losing someone again. He had enough shit in his life.


	4. Hollow

Feeling a nudge to his side, Keith blinked his eyes open expecting to see Lance staring down at him with his signature cheery grin. Instead, he was met with two pairs of eyes—both of which did not belong to the genie. No, these were the Galra that Keith had seen enter the inn the other day.

 

Keith immediately pulled himself up—or at least tried to.

 

“Ah, paladin. He’s finally awake,” the large, bulky Galra smirked. He was pulling up his gun, moving to press it against Keith’s left arm.

 

“What’s going on? Where am I?” _Where’s Lance?_

 

“Don’t pull too much on those chains, human. They aren’t _that_ sturdy,” the smaller Galra laughed harshly. He proceeded to pull on the chains connecting Keith’s arms to the roof of the darkly lit room they were in. The chain loosened before snapping back in place, tugging Keith’s arm in a painful direction. The teen let out a pained yelp.

 

“The sounds of pain are my favorite sounds,” the smaller Galra sighed sadistically. His companion rolled his eyes before letting out an amused chortle. “You agree, don’t you?”

 

“Obviously,” the larger Galra replied, pulling out a sharp blade. He twirled it in his large, scarred hands before pointing it at Keith’s face, the tip coming dangerously close to his nose. Keith resisted the urge to pull back.

 

“Tell us where the rest of your team is,” the large Galra demanded. A brief moment of silence passed.

 

“Looks like he doesn’t want to talk,” the smaller Galra shrugged. “But whatever. More _fun_ this way.”

 

Keith didn’t like the dangerous glint in their eyes. He already had a good feeling on what was coming, but that didn’t prepare him for it when it did come.

 

“I think I’ll just,” the smaller Galra hummed, running his hand along Keith’s right arm, “break one. You have two, so I guess you can afford to lose one of them.”

 

A loud snap and scream echoed throughout the room, followed by laughter from two sadistic Galrans. Keith’s eyes stung with tears that he quickly blinked away. The pain was sharp, but it faded to a dull sensation as time passed. That was until the large Galra put some pressure on his broken arm. Keith bit his lip hard to prevent himself from screaming, knowing that would only satisfy the two aliens. He could taste his own blood, but he didn’t ease up. The two aliens grew bored from his quietness, releasing his arm and pulling away.

 

Before relief could flood him, Keith’s eyes widened as they shocked him with some sort of tiny taser. He let out a startled yelp, body convulsing. The movement of his body caused the chains on his arms to loosen before tightening again.

 

_Oh fuck…_

 

The chains pulled both his arms back, and pain was the only thing Keith could feel after that. His broken arm was held in an awkward position and he couldn’t _feel_ it. All he could feel was pain. But the pain slowly ebbed away, replaced by a hollow feeling.

 

_This is it. This is where I die._

 

Keith was a failure of a paladin. He managed to get caught by two Galrans, isolated on a planet. He couldn’t even last a _day_ on his own. Would Red even accept him when—if—he returned? The Red Lion would probably want nothing to do with him after all of this was over. It was hard enough trying to get her to open up to him. After all of this, she would most likely deem him unworthy of piloting her again. Voltron might even already be searching for another pilot to replace him. He was almost certain that they weren’t even looking for him. Because why would they? Nobody ever came back for him.

 

The two Galrans didn’t seem to notice Keith’s change of behavior as they discussed the ways they could get him to talk, going back in forth with sharp smiles and gleaming eyes.

 

“We could rip off those tiny toes on his feet,” the smaller Galra offered. “He won’t be needing them after we’re through with him.”

 

“We could just cut off his legs. Maybe an arm,” the other chuckled. “But I guess we could do your suggestion first. More pain that way.”

 

“We can strangle the air out of him. Then we can drown him in his own blood,” the smaller sighed happily at the thought. “We can let him believe that it’s over before pulling him back again.”

 

“Over and over again,” the large Galra nodded.

 

Then the two of them turned back to Keith, excitement jumping off their skin.

 

“You’re going to wish you could just die.”

 

* * *

  

Lance sighed as he stared up at the glaring sun. It was super hot on this planet, uncomfortably so. He thought about how the two Galrans they saw earlier must be chilling in that inn, all nice and cool. Probably having the time of their lives, he thought. He idly traced a line in the sand with a finger.

 

He thought back on how Keith had acted the other day. He wondered why the red paladin was so angry at him all of a sudden. What had Lance done? He thought long and hard to the events of that day, but still couldn’t come up with anything. Maybe the red paladin was just missing his team. Maybe he was feeling…

 

Lance jumped to his feet as realization struck him. He was turning to run, but then thought about what he could do about it. He could reassure Keith that—but would the teen even believe him—and what if—and then things wouldn’t—Lance let out a long sigh, sitting back down. He sat there, doodling in the sand as a series of thoughts crossed his mind.

 

Eventually Lance came to the conclusion that he had to at _least_ try. With a goal in mind, Lance stood up and headed back to where he left the mullet haired teen.


	5. Hold Your Lions

Lance found him tossing and turning where he laid on the sand. He was shaking and sweating up a storm, murmuring unintelligibly under his breath. It was obvious to Lance that the mullet haired teen was having a nightmare. But it wasn’t a normal nightmare, not with the dark magic stifling the air around them. Lance frowned at the intangible dark aura surrounding Keith’s body.

 

After examining it carefully, Lance realized that it was the work of a Druid. He let out a sigh before snapping his fingers. The aura diminished and with it, Keith’s nightmare. The mullet haired teen stopped shivering, his breathing pattern returning to normal. Lance sat next to his sleeping form, bringing a hand up to wipe the sand from his face. After a moment of clearing the sand from the red paladin’s face, Lance decided it would be easier to just magic the teen clean. It took less than a second for Keith to be cleaned up as if freshly showered. Lance took a brief moment to admire his work—Keith’s hair was especially better off now, all shiny and fluffy.

 

Then, Lance reached out and poked the boy’s face. Keith only twitched in response. The genie huffed and poked again. Another twitch. It was actually quite a funny sight, Lance concluded as he watched the boy’s nose crinkle up before his facial expressions relaxed again. So Lance decided to bombard Keith with a series of pokes to the face, watching as his face twitched, relaxed, and twitched again.

 

It kind of reminded him of those cat videos from Earth. Not that he found Keith _cute_ or anything. Lance ceased his constant poking and laid down flat on his back next to the red paladin. If he wasn’t going to wake up then Lance decided he would cuddle him. That would either wake him up completely or freak him out when he finally decided it was time to get up.

 

* * *

 

Keith woke up slowly. He felt something warm pressed against his side, which confused him. Wasn’t he chained up in a dark room? Where was he? He blinked open his eyes, closing them at the brightness that invaded his vision. Was he outside again?

 

He moved to sit, but something was resting on his chest. He peered down through half-lidded eyes to see a head of brown hair. Lance was curled up into his side and sleeping silently. And Keith had no idea why he didn’t instantly freak out. He even felt _relaxed_. He couldn’t help but wonder if there was something wrong with him.

 

Snapping out of his dazedness, Keith pushed the genie off of him. The boy landed face first into the sand, spluttering as he sat up and glared at Keith. Keith moved to sit up as well, glaring right back at the genie.

 

“What the quiznak! Why’d you do that? Now I’ve got _sand_ in my _mouth_! Sand doesn’t belong in the mouth!” Lance complained, hands wiping at his face to clear off the sand.

 

“Well, your head doesn’t belong on my chest.”

 

“You wouldn’t wake up no matter how many times I poked your face!”

 

“You probably didn’t poke me hard enough. Try harder next time.”

 

“Oh, I _will_ ,” Lance declared with a mischievous smirk. Keith felt like he should probably regret challenging the genie, but doubted that anything Lance would do would effect him greatly.

 

“Whatever,” Keith finally muttered. He thought about the darkly lit room and the two Galrans. Feeling Lance’s gaze on him, he looked up to meet the genie’s eyes. A thought struck him, his eyes widening and his stomach dropping.

 

“Was it _you_? All this time—I should have known—How could I have thought—trust—Your magic—”

 

“Whoa, hold it there, Mullet,” Lance held a hand out, motioning for Keith to stop. “Calm down. What’s wrong?”

 

“You! You did—did _something_ with that magic of yours!” Keith yelled, pointing a finger accusingly at the genie who only blinked in response. “You—You made those Galra or—or you did something that made _that_ happen—”

 

“Hold your lions. I did nothing of the sort. If you’re accusing me of summoning Galra to this planet, then you are sorely mistaken. I can’t believe you’d accuse me of something like that! All I’ve done is help you. Why are you like this, Keith?” Lance sighed, shaking his head at the teen.

 

“Stop joking around!” Keith shouted angrily, his hands clenching into fists at his sides. “Tell me what you did. _Now._ ”

 

“Listen, cool down. I’ll explain what happened,” Lance said. “You had a nightmare—”

 

“ _Seriously_? That’s the best you can come up with?” Keith snarled.

 

“I’m not lying,” Lance glared. “You were shaking and everything when I came back. Whatever happened in your nightmare—which you apparently think _actually_ happened—didn’t happen! Someone with magic did something to you. And no, it wasn’t me. Believe me or not, it’s your choice, Mullet. But, I haven’t done anything to make you mistrust me. So…Just keep that in mind.”

 

“But…I…,” Keith furrowed his brows, looking at Lance with the most confused expression to ever grace the face of anyone, _ever_. Lance breathed out slowly.

 

“What do you think happened, Keith?”

 

“…Never mi—”

 

“No! Don’t you _never mind_ me Mullet! I need to know what’s going on with you,” Lance scolded. _So I can help you, dummy._

 

Keith let out a frustrated sigh, running his hands through his hair. He turned away from Lance and mumbled something angrily under his breath. Lance moved closer to hear him when the teen spun around to face him again, eyes burning with anger.

 

“I don’t have to tell you anything,” he stated. “So quit pestering me!”

 

Lance startled at his words, backing away from the infuriated boy whose face was closely resembling a tomato. He stared for a moment before letting out a huff.

 

“Keith, you don’t have to tell me if it bothers you that much. But…Just know that I’m here to help you. I’m here for you…Not just because I’m a genie. Not because I owe you three wishes. I’m here because I want to be. I’m here to help you,” Lance spoke softly, eyes pleading Keith to understand. All he got was a half-hearted grunt and Lance, well he couldn’t just leave it there. He had to reassure Keith, because he was a hundred percent certain that Keith was feeling alone. And Lance wanted— _needed_ —him to know that he wasn’t alone. Not with Lance nearby.

 

“I know we haven’t had much time to get to know one another well, but I want to do everything I can to help you out. I—I don’t want you to think you’re alone in this, Keith. You have me,” Lance assured him, hand resting on the boy’s shoulder. He could feel his face warm from the sincere words leaving his mouth. And he was certain that he had imagined the red tint of Keith’s cheeks—probably residual red from his anger.

 

Keith stood there, staring into the genie’s eyes for a solid minute before nodding silently.

 

“You don’t have to believe me now, Keith. I’ll prove it to you,” Lance declared.

 

_I’ll make all your wishes come true._


	6. We Had A Bonding Moment

Before they knew it, a week passed by with them just wandering the planet. During the time they spent together, they learned more about one another and formed a stronger bond. Keith learned how Lance favored the color blue, how he loved the ocean on Earth (and any other planet), how he enjoyed trying new things, and how he liked granting wishes for people because it allowed him to learn more about that person through their wishes (also because he liked making people happy. Keith believed that the genie was seeking some validation of having some worth, but that was just a thought).

 

Lance learned that Keith preferred time spent alone. He learned that Keith liked conspiracy theories, how he had a close bond with the black paladin of Voltron—Shiro—and how he had trouble letting people in (Lance noticed how the teen often threw up walls to protect himself and wondered if it had to do with past abandonment). Lance also learned how strong of a paladin Keith was when they got into a fight with some local aliens at a bar. Keith had overpowered all three burly aliens that had come rushing at him without breaking a sweat.

 

Lance was impressed—he expected nothing less from a paladin of Voltron.

 

“Lance,” Keith groaned from his position on the ground a few feet away from the genie. “Stop daydreaming and come over here.”

 

Lance grinned widely at the teen and strutted up to him, peering down at him with curious eyes. Keith rolled his eyes in response and grabbed Lance’s wrist, pulling him down into a sitting position beside Keith. Lance huffed out a breath, smiling at the red paladin.

 

“So, what brings you here, handsome?” Lance teased, batting his eyelashes at the mullet haired boy. Keith’s face flushed as he turned slightly away from the genie.

 

“What. You know, I’m stuck here,” Keith mumbled, running a hand through his hair. “But we finally managed to get a ship, so we’ll be out of here in no time.”

 

“That’s the spirit,” Lance cheered. “It’s all thanks to our encounter with those rough-housing, burly aliens at the bar. Such good luck.”

 

“And _I_ did all the work. You just sat around staring,” Keith glared.

 

“Hey, can’t blame me for wanting to observe a paladin of Voltron in action. And might I add that your swordsmanship is excellent? Never seen someone swing it quite the way you do,” Lance giggled. Keith blinked and shoved at the genie, his face turning a shade similar to the color of his lion.

 

“Fuck off,” Keith grumbled. “You know my wrist was injured.”

 

“Yeah, and I offered to take care of that for you!”

 

“Well, don’t forget that _you_ were the one who told me not to waste my wishes,” Keith reminded. “An injured wrist would heal eventually. See? It already has.”

 

_Because I healed it, stupid._

 

“Whatever,” Lance crossed his arms.

 

“And that injury was your fault in the first place,” Keith added, causing Lance to look over at him incredulously.

 

“Excuse me?”

 

“If you hadn’t been busy messing with that squishy blob thing—what the hell was that even?—then I wouldn’t have had to leap in to save your ass.”

 

“I could have handled that!” Lance protested. “I didn’t ask for your help!”

 

Lance noticed how the atmosphere had shifted from friendly to antagonistic, mourning the loss of the friendship he had been working to build with Keith. Were they really going to fall back to square one? Over something like this of all things? It was stupid.

 

“Well, you are no help at all! There have been multiple opportunities for you to do—to do _something_ , but all you do is sit around and observe or get distracted by petty things!” Keith pointed angrily at Lance.

 

“Ok…Ok. I’m sorry,” Lance sighed, watching as Keith’s eyes widened at his abrupt apology. It would have been funny if Lance wasn’t feeling a bit down about how fragile their relationship seemingly was. The mullet haired teen had his mouth agape, finger still pointed in the genie’s face. His hair was more of a mess than usual, what with the desert’s sand embedded in his sweaty mullet. Most of his hair stuck to his skin, and if it wasn’t making Keith uncomfortable, it definitely made Lance uncomfortable. He had to hold himself back from cleaning the boy up.

 

Over the course of the week the two of them spent together, Lance had thought they had bonded, had grown closer. But thinking back, he realized all of the fights—similar to this one—had been escalating, and each had one similar point: Lance was useless.

 

Keith didn’t want him. He didn’t want Lance’s company. He didn’t care for his three wishes (at least not farther than going back home to his team). Keith didn’t care for Lance at all. He just saw the genie as a burden. Someone he had to take care of because they kept running into trouble and apparently Lance was incapable of taking care of himself.

 

 _Maybe…Just maybe,_ Lance thought, _this relationship was never meant to be._

 

Lance began to think of ways he could leave Keith so that he would no longer burden the teen, unaware of the red paladin freaking out beside him, wondering if he had finally gone too far and pushed another person (genie) out of his life. Keith began thinking of how Lance was going to abandon him, and just how alone he would be if the genie did. Keith had no idea how he was going to get back to his team, and the only thing keeping him grounded was Lance—even if they bickered often.

 

Keith knew that he was more irritable as of late, especially because of the lack of sleep since the nightmare, and he knew he was taking it out on Lance, but he thought the genie wasn’t taking any of it to heart. He thought the genie didn’t truly care about him or what he had to say.

 

_He’s just going to leave me. They all do._

 

Keith opened his mouth to apologize, but no sound came out. All he could do was stare helplessly at the genie.

 

Lance looked up, meeting Keith’s silent gaze. Blue eyes shone with determination. Lance reached out and gripped Keith’s shoulders, once again startling Keith who stiffened under his touch.

 

“I’m not going to leave you, even if we fight often. I’m not going to be a burden for you to worry about, so I don’t need you to leap in and save my ass. I won’t sit around to watch anymore. I will fight beside you,” Lance declared. “So please let me remain by your side.”

 

_I won’t give up on you._

 

“…Y-Yeah…You still owe me three wishes anyway,” Keith responded gruffly, but Lance acknowledged the gratitude that Keith’s gray eyes were expressing. So, the genie smiled softly in return.

 

“Yeah.”

 

Lance turned away from Keith to lay down on the sand, staring up at the stars overhead. Keith watched the genie for a moment before laying down as well, closing his eyes. He felt a smile tugging at his lips.

 

_We had a bonding moment…_

 

And there were plenty more to come if Keith had any say in it.


	7. I Cradled You In My Arms!

“You said I wouldn’t have to save your ass anymore!” Keith shouted over the noise of explosions going off in the distance. He cradled an injured Lance in his arms, his bayard thrown to the side. Lance blinked his blue eyes up at the teen, a small grin forming on his face.

 

“Sorry? I was aiming for the bomb, but I didn’t think they’d actually throw the bomb,” Lance wheezed out. Keith frowned at the genie and brushed his hair back from his face.

 

“I didn’t know genies could get hurt,” Keith mumbled, eyes displaying his concern.

 

“Hey, of course we can get hurt! We’re not all-powerful. I don’t think anyone or anything in the universe is…”

 

“Well, can’t you—I don’t know—magic the injuries away?” Keith asked. Lance blinked up at him before shaking his head.

 

“Uh, no can do Mullet. I’m under your control now, so I can only do as you say.”

 

“Then I wish—”

 

“No! Don’t waste your wish on something petty like this—”

 

“It’s not a waste if it’s going to heal you,” Keith growled. “You keep telling me not to waste my wishes, but I have _three_. At this rate, I’ll never make a wish!”

 

Lance’s gaze fell away from Keith’s face as he settled for staring at a particular spot on the ground. Keith huffed out a breath and tightened his hold on the genie.

 

“They’re gone now,” Lance said, pulling away from Keith’s embrace. He walked over to the abandoned bayard and handed it back to the red paladin.

 

“Thanks,” he mumbled as he took it.

 

“I got the rest of the parts during the fight,” Lance informed him, pulling a bag out of thin air.

 

“So that’s what you were doing,” Keith blinked in awe. “Good job.”

 

“You too. We make a good team,” Lance grinned, watching a smile grow on Keith’s face.

 

* * *

 

Later that night, they had a little argument over the events that occurred that day while Lance was sharing the story with a couple of aliens at the bar.

 

“And then I heroically saved Keith’s ass from the exploding bombs by jumping in the way,” Lance explained, eyes sparkling with mischief.

 

“What?” Keith asked in indignation, coming up from behind him to sit beside the genie. “Your memory must have been damaged from the blast. _I_ was the one who saved _you_!”

 

“Nuh uh!”

 

“We had a bonding moment! I cradled you in my arms!”

 

“Nope. Don’t remember. Didn’t happen.”

 

The two boys didn’t even realize the other aliens leaving as they argued, lost in their own world.

 

* * *

 

 

Lance worked on fixing up the ship as Keith stood around talking with the locals. Lance had bet him that he wouldn’t be able to talk his way into getting a free communicator and that had set the mullet haired teen off. Lance laughed quietly at the memory as he finished up fixing the ship. With everything in working order, Lance kept an eye out for any suspicious aliens edging toward the ship and also watching Keith yell at some poor four armed alien with bulging eyes.

 

The genie sighed when the alien seemed to have enough and punched at Keith with one of its four arms. Luckily, Keith saw the attack coming and managed to avoid being flung across the desert. Lance decided to step in when the furious teenager whipped out his bayard and pointed it threateningly at the alien.

 

As he pulled the struggling teen away from the steaming alien, Lance noticed that some Galra were walking out of the town towards the ship Lance had just finished fixing up.

 

“Let me go, Lance! I’m gonna fucking obliterate that stupid alien!” Keith snarled, still unaware of the presence of his enemies.

 

“Um, maybe direct that ferocity at the Galra over there?” Lance suggested, pushing Keith in front of him.

 

“Shit! How many more came?” Keith asked, his eyes wide in disbelief. “Why would they even come here? There’s nothing here but vast deserts…and other unexplored territory.”

 

“Actually, I know of a very nice waterfall and rainforest that exist somewhere on this planet. It would probably take a few days to get there on foot, but on a—”

 

“Not the time, Lance. Come on. We’ve got to get to the ship before they step foot on it.”

 

Keith grabbed Lance’s wrist and dragged him toward the ship. The two of them managed to get onboard before the Galra. Lance watched as one ran its claws against the side of the spaceship, its eyes glowing in curiosity.

 

“This must be what Prince Lotor was talking about,” the Galra said to his companion. Keith was too busy to notice the way Lance paled and his eyes widened. He rushed over to the controls, thrusted in the keys, and turned the engine on.

 

“Come on, come on,” Keith chanted as he gritted his teeth. Lance plopped down into the seat beside him, tapping his fingers anxiously on the armrest.

 

“Hey! Someone’s in there,” one of the Galras shouted.

 

“Stop your ship now!” The other commanded just as Keith managed to get it airborne.

 

“Finally,” Keith sighed out in relief as they left the planet behind.

 

“That wasn’t too bad, right? Only a week on that planet,” Lance grinned. “You’ll be back with your team in no time!”

 

Keith smiled slightly at the mention of his team. Shiro…Pidge, Hunk…Allura…and Coran. They were all probably worried about him. Or…maybe they weren’t. His smile faded away and tensed up slightly. What if the team stopped searching for him? What if they never even searched for him at all? What if they found someone to replace him? That could happen…Voltron didn’t necessarily need _him_ , right? Did it even matter who piloted the lions? Were they all replaceable and only there because it was what was most convenient? He remembered hearing Allura mumbling about how she never thought the paladins would be like how they were when they first arrived.

 

“Keith?”

 

Lance’s voice pulled Keith away from his spiraling thoughts, causing him to look into the concerned blue eyes of the genie sitting beside him.

 

“Are you alright?”

 

“…Yeah. I’m fine.”

 

Lance seemed unconvinced, but he didn’t press any further. A heavy silence filled the air before Lance broke it as he began to hum a tune Keith had never heard before. Keith wasn’t able to drift off into his thoughts as he was somewhat focused on steering the ship and listening to Lance’s soothing tune. It was nice and comforting and Keith was surprised he wasn’t drifting off into a deep slumber. When Lance finished humming his song, he let out a soft sigh and tapped his fingers on his armrest.

 

“Where’d you learn that song?” Keith asked, giving into his curiosity.

 

“I guess you could call it a theme song for genies,” Lance joked. “It’s a song that’s popular among us anyway. There aren’t many lyrics. It’s mostly just a melody.”

 

“What are the lyrics?” Keith inquired, staring into Lance’s blue eyes and noticing the faraway look in the normally sparkling ocean blues. The genie boy pursed his lips and turned his head away from Keith, choosing to look out the glass on his right side.

 

“It’s something like this: when you lose your choice, confined by man’s wishes, don’t betray his orders, or he will return you back to ashes by destroying your chains—your prison,” Lance sang softly. Keith vaguely noted that the genie had a good voice, but he sang too softly for Keith to judge his talent. What he blatantly realized, though, was the meaning behind those words and the harsh reality of it all.

 

“You mean,” Keith blinked, his hands tightening over the ship’s handles. He couldn’t see Lance’s expression because the boy was facing the other way, but he saw how Lance nodded stiffly.

 

“Yeah,” Lance breathed out. “…Yeah. Genies can die, too. All you have to do is break their chains and set them free.”

 

Lance turned back to face Keith, and smiled sadly at the red paladin.

 

“Because we were never meant to be free.”

 

 _Because_ I _was never meant to be free._


End file.
